With the expansion in ever larger motor vehicles for hauling an ever growing variety of cargos, has come an increasing concern that the operators of such vehicles be provided with an unobstructed view of potential dangers from which they might guide their vehicle without incident. In large elongated vehicles, such as buses, tractor trailers, motor homes and the like, the observation of potential danger to the rear and sides of the vehicle, during forward driving and rearward maneuvering, has always been problematic because turning of the drivers head from the forward driving position is awkward and can create a dangerous distraction. Even when a forward view is not essential, such as when backing a tractor trailer combination, the pivoting action of the combination can so change the lines of sight within the typical rear mirror arrangement as to cancel desirable mirrored views.
Mirrored means have been devised which provide a barely adequate view of potential danger along the sides of elongated vehicles but direct view to the immediate rear of the vehicle is generally obstructed. In a typical elongated cargo or the like vehicle, the mass of vehicle arranged behind the driver so obscures rearward view that mirrored means are generally mounted to the sides, exterior to the driver's compartment, and forward the drivers position to enable reflected view of the vehicle sides and rear. Such mirrored means have become pervasive in the driving experience and vehicle operators rely so heavily upon them to perform their driving duties that their use has become natural and impulsive to the drivers experience.
In recent years, video means have been suggested for use in rearward vision enhancement for larger vehicles, but such has not met with great success. In a typical arrangement, a video camera is mounted to the rear of the vehicle and a cathode ray tube is mounted, in operating enablement with the camera, somewhere within the vehicle driver's compartment. Such arrangements are generally rejected by drivers, being seen as distractions from their normal viewing experience in that they require a driver to position his head and focus his attention in directions that are ergonomically foreign to the natural impulse that his driving experience has developed and can confuse his reaction to the immediate forward driving concern that must be addressed.
Thus, the learning experience of a typical driver includes operation of a multiplicity of vehicles which have similarly mounted rearward viewing mirrors which tend to train the driver to impulsively look to left and right side mounted mirrors to determine potential left and right side dangers and naturally integrate the mirrored image that is seen, into the mental decision that must be made in order to take action to avoid the dangers that might be present. The placement of a cathode ray screen in a position foreign to such impulse adds complexity and indecision to the mental processing of the situation and becomes burdensome and even dangerous to the driving experience.
Further, in such prior art arrangements, the cathode ray screen displays an image which comprises the direct view of the camera. Such direct view is in contrast to the mirrored view of the drivers experience for rearward viewing and adds further complexity to the mental processing of the situation which further burdens the immediate decision and increases the danger of error in the driving experience.
An object of the present invention is to provide a means for vehicular rearward viewing which is ergonomically consistent with driver impulsive movement.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a means for vehicular rearward viewing which is integrated with existing mirrored arrangements.
Another further object of the present invention is to provide a means for viewing areas which are not generally within the sight line of the driver.
A further object of the invention is to provide a device for vehicular viewing which is compact and portable.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a device which is capable of bringing enhanced view to the driver.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.